Houston Astros Rumors: Three implications of Josh James’ quad injury

Framber Valdez likely takes the final rotation spot for the Houston Astros

You may be wondering why James’ injury takes him out of the competition for the final spot in the rotation. Quad injuries are notoriously tricky for pitchers since so much of pitching power comes from the legs, especially for a power pitcher like James.

Plus, Brian McTaggart said so and his word on the state of the Houston Astros is pretty much gospel at this point. So, that means the final rotation spot has been pretty much narrowed down to Framber Valdez and Brad Peacock.

Peacock has been a successful starter for the Houston Astros before, as recently as the 2017 championship season. He started 21 games and pitched in 132 total innings in 2017 and was fairly productive with 13 wins, a 3.00 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 11 strikeouts per nine innings. However, after the acquisitions of Verlander and Cole, Peacock was moved back to the bullpen.

Valdez, like James, entered the rotation towards the end of the 2018 season when the Astros were working through some injury bugs in their rotation. Valdez started five games for the team and making relief appearances in three others.

The team went 6-2 in those games he pitched in while he sported a 2.19 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP while striking out 63 batters in 65 innings. Valdez should be the better option for the rotation as he appears to be steady and reliable. He also adds another lefty to the rotation to break up the number of righties.